1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an alcohol detection system, and more particularly to an alcohol detection system for detecting ethanol in a fuel pump.
2. Related Art
There is an increasing desire to power vehicles with ethanol, which is a product of renewable resources such as corn, soybeans or sugarcane, rather than gasoline, which is a byproduct of non-renewable crude oil. Unfortunately, high concentrations of ethanol may cause corrosion or other damage in the engine and fuel system components of many engines. Some components that are particularly vulnerable to damage from ethanol include fuel hoses and fuel pumps. Therefore, many automobile manufacturers have begun producing and selling “flex fuel vehicles” which are resistant to high concentrations of alcohol. Specifically, flex fuel vehicles are designed to operate on either unleaded gasoline or E-85, which is a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline. However, not all vehicles are flex fuel vehicles, and thus, many vehicles on the road today are susceptible to damage from E-85.
Gas stations typically sell E-85 in a separate pump from unleaded gasoline to reduce the likelihood of a customer accidentally filling his or her non-flex fuel vehicle with E-85. This separate pump also typically includes special warnings for informing drivers about the dangers of improperly using E-85 in a non-flex fuel vehicle. Regardless, many customers with non-flex fuel vehicles ignore the warnings or even disregard them because E-85 is often cheaper than unleaded gasoline. Thus, non-flex fuel vehicles are routinely damaged from the improper use of E-85.
If a vehicle is damaged from the use of E-85, the damage might not manifest itself until all of the E-85 has been consumed and the customer has refilled his or her fuel tank with unleaded gasoline. Thus, it is often difficult for a mechanic to determine whether damage on a vehicle was caused by a manufacturing defect, the repair of which is often covered by a manufacturer's warranty, or by the improper use of E-85, the repair of which is usually not covered by the manufacturer's warranty. In the absence of evidence that the customer is at fault for the damage to his or her vehicle, many mechanics simply repair the damaged vehicle under warranty at the manufacturer's expense. There remains a need for an improved system for detecting the presence of high concentrations of ethanol in a fuel tank and for providing evidence of ethanol even after it is no longer present in the fuel tank of the vehicle.